defining a tourist

I am a candy-maker in a fudge shop. One of my favorite things to do is to observe the shop's customers that come through each day. The majority of those people coming in are families or couples that are traveling on vacation. Most often, these people are known as "tourists." What exactly makes a tourist? I looked it up in the American Heritage Dictionary and found this definition.

Tourist: one who travels for pleasure.

The bulk of the people I meet would fall under this definition, however, I would consider taking out the phrase "for pleasure" for some special case studies.

Tourists are special people. You will find no other group of people quite like a mob of tourists. There are many groups of people that are distinct. One can find in magazines and textbooks that these are commonly referred to as "people groups." Sometimes this refers to ethnicity or nationality. I would like to make the argument that tourists are a people group made up of members of all other people groups.

A people group is a body of people who have in common their language or culture. There is a language for tourism. Some of it is textual, some visual, other parts conversational. Brightly colored signs along the highway bring in many people through the appeal of exciting photos. This is one of the few things a tourist will ever read while on vacation. Upon arriving at the tourist attraction (otherwise known as a "tourist trap"), the tourist will be given a map or a type of information guide. For some strange reason, this is usually disregarded immediately. Instead, the tourist will more often ask people on the site (whether they be other tourists or employees of the tourist trap) where they can find their favorite place. (Most often, this seems to be the local restroom.) As far as the visual language goes, the tourist will see exactly what they want to see; thus, the small "employees only" sign has yet to be read except by the one who put it up. A higher percentage of tourists will see pictures, though, the arrow never seems to point the correct direction. Conversation is easy to make with a tourist. You often will hear all about their dog, neighbor, illness, ex-son-in-law, or the fact that they are from Indiana. However, should they ever ask the employee a question that will have an answer beyond "yes" or "no," be assured that 98 percent of tourists have no interest in the answer. It merely sounded intelligent to ask the question. I recommend answering with the most bogus answer possible and watch to see no reaction from anyone but your coworker.

Tourist culture seeks that which is free or discounted when in a store. 50 percent off sales are generally a rip-off still since there is always a 300 percent mark-up on anything a tourist might consider purchasing, but the tourist has no concept of a good buy while vacationing. When looking for great times, usually in a freakishly fast ride, tourists will pay any fee and think it was worth it, in spite of the fact they are ill for the next 4 hours and went and vomited up their $7.95 PBJ from the vendor in the back corner. The main point I am trying to convey within tourist culture is that it is highly expensive, and most people cannot afford what they do. It is no shock that it is acceptable in the American culture to have a "vacation credit card" with a high limit that is charged to the max each summer, and takes the next 12 months to begin to make headway on the debt.

In summary, this blog will be building off of this image that has been painted for you of tourism. Each post will be a true story and yet one more reason I never will be a member of the tourist people group.

“The worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist.”
– Russell Baker